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March 16, 2008

I grow maudlin

Perspective is an amazing thing. As I grow older, I care more deeply about certain things than I ever did before, but others don't matter diddly-squat anymore. I've probably had my last bar-fight. There was a time when I would take no shit from nobody and rather absorb an ass-whuppin' than walk away from a challenge.

Today, I'll walk away and never even look over my shoulder. I KNOW who I am now. I don't have to prove it to anybody else.

After my visit with Ken, I've been thinking a lot about the concept of love. Not LOVE itself, but the idea of it. Ken is quite the philosopher and he put an eggbeater in my head. Don't drink a lot of wine and sit around talking with him. He'll make you decide:

*Love comes in lots of flavors. If you don't know what I mean by that, you don't understand love.

*You can love someone and still get very pissed off at them. If you STAY pissed off, you never loved them to begin with. Love is tough sometimes.

*Loving someone is better than being loved. I cannot imagine a better feeling than to look at someone and think, "I love her." Even if she doesn't love you back, you are the better person. You grew a soul.

*Kids love you because they are supposed to. If you gain your child's RESPECT when the child is grown, you've been a good, loving parent.

*You can love someone without doting on them. Sometimes you have to love from a distance.

*If you love someone, TELL THEM that you do. Otherwise, they'll never know for sure.

*Be selective about where you spend your love. Love isn't alms for the poor and it isn't charity for the needy. It is YOUR LOVE, which is a precious commodity that you share only with those who deserve it by YOUR STANDARDS. You never GIVE it away. You REWARD someone with it.

*Love also is something that you'll never run out of, no matter how much you give. In fact, the more you give, the more love you have to take its place.